UNIT 1_THEORY

Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao

Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

Unit 1: Introduction
This document provides relevant information about two of the topics covered in Unit 1,
in particular:
1. Kinds of Language Varieties
1.1 Factors accounting for variability
1.2 Kinds of variability
2. Introduction to Transcription Practice
2.1 Symbols and transcription
2.2 Intermediate vowels
Appendix 1: Symbols & diacritics missing in Trudgill & Hannahs
Appendix 2: References and Further Reading

1. Kinds of Language Varieties

1.1 Factors accounting for variability
There are several factors that explain the variability among speakers regarding
pronunciation. We can find differences in pronunciation resulting from personal (or
static) variables including:
1. Age (and sex) of the speaker: Differences between the pronunciation of
younger and older generations, and between men and women.
2. Social class: A certain social class, lets say the upper class, may have
features that are different from the rest of the speakers.
3. Others:
a) Educational background
b) Profession o role
c) Personality: A speaker may avoid vulgarisms, such as the use of
glottal stops for /t/ in certain environments.
d) Attitudes to language and to other speakers
e) Age of accent acquisition: If it is acquired after childhood a
speaker is likely to avoid normal features of faster speech, such as,
the dropping of unaccented /h/ in pronouns in the case of RP, for
instance.
f) Frequency with which a speaker uses a word: It seems that less
frequently used words tend to change less than more frequently used
words.
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UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

g) Feeling of correctness: A speaker may think that the

pronunciation of a word by a teacher is the correct one.
There are others factors that are situational, such as:
a) The social relationship between speaker and hearer (how well they
know each other, the relative status of the people speakers are
talking to)
b) The topic the speaker is talking to or written about
c) In what place the conversation is taking place (whether one is
speaking in public or in private)
d) The purposes for which the speaker is using the language

1.2 Kinds of variability

English is very varied. First of all, there are considerable regional and social
variations within the English language in different parts of the British Isles as well as
in other parts of the world. As you already know, these social and geographical
kinds of language are known as dialects. Everybody speaks a dialect. Dialects have
to do also with the grammatical forms that are used together with any regional
vocabulary that is employed. There is a clear relationship between social and
regional variation, with more regional variation at the bottom of the social scale and
less, at the top. Standard English is the dialect with the greatest prestige in UK,
although linguistically speaking is not superior to all the other non-standard varieties
representing other grammatical systems.
A dialect can be spoken with any kind of accent. Accent refers to pronunciation.
Your accent is the way you pronounce English when you speak. Furthermore, the
relationship between social and regional variation can also be applied to accents.
The higher a person is on the social scale, the less regionally marked will be his or
her accent, and the less it is likely to differ from a model of pronunciation such as
RP, the one taught in the previous course Pronunciacin en la lengua inglesa.
Funny enough, some people, trying to climbing the social scale modify their accent
in the direction of RP and assign wrongly certain pronunciations (hypercorrections).
In addition to regional and social accents (and dialects), English has different
styles, which are used in different social situations. The situational variables
mentioned above are responsible for these stylistic variations. Changes in
pronunciation then are conditioned by speakers perception of the situation in which
they are speaking, especially how formal or informal they feel it to be. In formal
situations, speakers tend to articulate more slowly and carefully, besides there will be
fewer elisions. Oh the contrary, in informal situations, speakers will be more
likely to speak quickly and less carefully, eliding or assimilating individual sounds
according to the context. Most differences, however, have to do with words rather
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Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

than changes in pronunciation. Those words used in a very informal situation are
often referred as slang.
There is another kind of variation within English, which is not dependent on dialect
or style. This has to do with the subject or topic being talked or written about. Kinds
of language that reflect the about are known as registers. Registers most often got
to do with vocabulary. They also show who is member of a group or not (social
function). Outsiders often react to this by calling insiders registers jargon. We will
call them technical (or non-technical) registers.
Remember that there is no necessary connection between a certain dialect (or
accent) and a certain register (or style)!
Furthermore, there are differences of pronunciation which cannot be explained in
terms either of change over time or of speech style but in terms the speakers
preference for one pronunciation over others. This kind of variation is known as
free variation.

UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

2. Introduction to Transcription Practice

2.1 Symbols and transcription
A system of written symbols that can be used to represent spoken language is
essential in English, a language with clear differences between pronunciation and
spelling.
In comparing features of different accents one could use the resources of the Roman
alphabet and the spelling systems, although these ready-made resources are very
limited. Therefore, in 1889 linguists developed a special system of symbols for
representing pronunciation, known as the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA).
The complete system has symbols for transcribing all speech sounds, -not only
those of English-, together with a set of marks called diacritics which help the
transcriber to make subtle distinctions between sounds.
Scholars adopt the IPA symbols to represent the phonemes of a particular language.
Two principles hold the decision of choosing a particular symbol to represent a
phoneme:
(a) Using the phonetic symbols of the most frequent allophones
(b) Replacing non-Roman symbols arising from (a) by Roman symbols where
these are not already in use, what is called Romanization.
However, sometimes this principle of Romanization is not fully
implemented, thus, even using the IPA, it is possible to construct different
set of symbols for a particular language.
Furthermore, since the phonemic symbols do not have to show precise phonetic
quality, it is possible to choose among several possible symbols to represent a
particular phoneme. In the case of English, there are various systems of phonetic
transcription in use; many of them follow the principles of the IPA. The differences
between them are very mild, and they mostly affect to the transcription of vowels.
We loosely call phonetic transcription the way of representing the sounds of a
language in writing. However, and in order to be more precise and scientific, we
should talk about two main kinds of transcriptions:
(i)

Broad (also known as phonemic or phonological) transcription, where

every speech sound is identified as a single phoneme, and
represented with the appropriate symbol. Symbols are enclosed
between slant lines. For example, in the word ten one would not show
details of articulation just the phonemes /ten/.

UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

(ii)

Narrow (also called phonetic or allophonic) transcription, which

provides additional information about the articulatory qualities of the
speech sounds. Symbols and diacritics are enclosed in square
brackets. For example, in the same word ten one would show the
aspiration of the first plosive and the nasalization of the vowel [thn].

In the present course (including the written exam) we will only use the phonemic
transcription. In particular, the one you learnt in the course Pronunciacin de la
lengua inglesa, and used in many of the pronunciation dictionaries, including the
LPD (Longman Pronunciation Dictionary) by JC Wells. It is the transcription system
which in recent years has been used in EFL works on British English. It uses RP as
the reference accent, the one with which samples of other accents are
compared.
With respect to the rest of the accents (inside and outside UK), we will use the
phonetic symbols and notations that are most frequently found in education and
publishing nowadays. They will be reproduced in a table of the subsequent
theoretical units uploaded in this virtual course.

2.2 Intermediate vowels

In modern RP English, native speakers neutralise the phonemic oppositions /i/ - //
and /u/ - // in some unstressed environments. The resulting weak vowels share the
phonetic characteristics of both /i/ and // on the one hand, and /u/ and // on the
other. Therefore, extra symbols (/i/ and /u/, respectively) have been set up in the
transcription system in order to cope with this situation. Remember that traditionally
the symbols that were used were // and //.
/i/: This vowel is most often represented in spelling by the letters i and e. It usually
occurs:
i) In word-final unstressed position in words spelt with final -y, -ie or ey after one or more consonant letters, as in happy, Annie or easy.
Even if those words have suffixes beginning with vowels, as in happier
or easiest.
ii) In word-internal unstressed position before vowel, as in audio or
mediate.

UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

iii) In unstressed prefixes (such as re-, pre- and de-) before vowel,
as in react, or deactivate.
iv) In the unstressed suffixes -iate and -ious when they are
dissyllables, as in appreciate or hilarious.
v) In the weak form of the words me, he, she, we and be.
vi) In the weak form of the word the before vowel.
/u/: This weak vowel is not so commonly found. It is most often represented in
spelling by the letters u and o. It usually occurs:
i) In word-internal unstressed position before another vowel, as in
evacuation.
ii) In the weak form of the words you and who.
iii) In the weak form of the words to, into, do (aux.) before vowel.

FINAL COMMENT: Check if you have achieved the learning outcomes

from the Study Guide (p.23) before moving into the next unit!

UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

APPENDIX 1: SYMBOLS & DIACRITICS MISSING IN TRUDGILL &

HANNAHS BOOK
Here is the list of the vowel symbols and diacritics, missing in the preface of Trudgill &
Hannahs book International English. A guide to the varieties of Standard English:
i

Cardinal vowel no. 1: close front unrounded vowel (also used for RP /i/
in see)

Lax Cardinal vowel no. 1: Centralised (fairly front) fairly close unrounded
vowel (as in RP hit)

Cardinal vowel no. 2: close-mid front unrounded vowel (also used as a

conservative pronunciation for RP in red)

Cardinal vowel no. 3: open-mid front unrounded vowel (also used for RP
in red)

Cardinal vowel no. 4: open front unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 5: open back unrounded vowel (also used for RP //
in red)

Cardinal vowel no. 6: open-mid back rounded vowel (also used for RP
// in saw)

Cardinal vowel no. 7: close mid back rounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 8: close back rounded vowel (also used for RP /u:/ in
do)

Lax Cardinal vowel no. 8: fairly back fairly close rounded vowel (as in RP
pull)

Cardinal vowel no. 10: close-mid front rounded vowel

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Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

Cardinal vowel no. 13: open back rounded vowel (also used for RP in
doll)

Cardinal vowel no. 14: open-mid back unrounded vowel (also used for
RP in cup)

Cardinal vowel no. 15: close-mid back unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 18: close central rounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 22: schwa, mid central unrounded vowel (also used
for RP in letter)

Cardinal vowel no. 23: close-mid central rounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 24: fairly open central unrounded vowel

Cardinal vowel no. 25: fairly open front unrounded vowel (also used for
RP in cat)

Cardinal vowel no. 26: open-mid central unrounded vowel (also used for
RP in bird)

Indicates long vowel (as in RP /i/, /u:/, /:/, /:/, /:/) (IPA symbol )

Indicates half long vowel (IPA symbol )

Indicates more closed (or raised) vowel (C means more closed consonant)

Indicates more open (or lowered vowel (C means more open consonant)

Indicates more front (or advanced tongue root) vowel (C means more
front consonant)

Indicates more back (or retracted tongue root) vowel (C means more
back consonant)

UNIT 1_THEORY
Silvia C. Barreiro Bilbao
Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

APPENDIX 2: REFERENCES & FURTHER READING (UNIT 1)

Journals: (check more information on Internet)
1. English World-Wide: A Journal of Varieties of English, John Benjamins,
Amsterdam, 1980-; twice a year. It deals with the dialectology and
sociolinguistics of the English-speaking communities.
2. World Englishes: Basil Blackwell, Oxford, 1993-; three times a year. It is
committed to the study of varieties of English in diverse cultural and
sociolinguistic contexts. Check UNED Library!
Books:
1. Bauer, L. 2002. An Introduction to International Varieties of English.
Edinburgh, Edinburgh University Press.
2. Burchfield, R. (ed.). 1994. English in Britain and Overseas: Origins and
Development. The Cambridge History of the English Language, vol v.
Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
3. Crystal, D. 1997. English as a global language. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. Chapter 2 (spread of English)
4. McArthur, T. 1998. The English Languages. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press. (English division)
5. McMahon, A. 2002. An Introduction to English Phonology. Edinburgh,
Edinburgh University Press (comparison among varieties)
6. Melchers, G. & P. Shaw. 2011. World Englishes. London: Hodder Education.
(English varieties)
7. Wells, J.C. 1982. Accents of English. Volume 1. Cambridge: Cambridge
University Press.
Internet Links:
Accents of English from Around the World (loads of samples of English
accents)
Easily confused phonetic symbols (list of common errors when using the
International Phonetic Alphabet, by professor J.C. Wells)
fonetiks (samples of sounds from different parts of the English-speaking
world)
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Variedades fontico-fonolgicas de la lengua inglesa

International Dialects of English Archive (IDEA) (recordings of dialects and

accents of languages from all over the world, including the English- speaking
areas)
International Corpus of English (recordings of short samples of different
speakers from Australia, India, Great Britain and Jamaica, among others)
Internacional Phonetic Alphabet (videos and recordings of the IPA sounds,
Sheffield University)
International Phonetic Alphabet charts (clickable charts allowing you to listen
to the sounds of the International Phonetic Alphabet, and diphthongs in
General American and British (RP) English)
International Phonetics Association (it includes phonetics information and
resources)
Speech Accent Archive (recordings of many languages from around the
world; it includes transcriptions and phonological information)
The Audio Archive (recordings of English texts of speakers from UK, Canada,
Australia, India, Ireland, New Zealand and USA)
UCLA Phonetics Lab Data (recordings of a great number of languages from
around the world, including British and American English)
UCLA Phonetics Lab Archive (collected recordings of hundreds of languages
from around the world, providing source materials for phonetic and
phonological research)
World Englishes (mp3 audio files associated to the book World Englishes by
Melchers & Shaw) (You need a password to log in)
Transcription practice online:
-

http://www.photransedit.com/Online/Text2Phonetics.aspx

http://tom.brondsted.dk/text2phoneme/

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